This overview of the 1930s is the story of the dark, dishonest decade, child of one world war and parent of the next, that determined the course of the 20th century. The book examines the great powers - USA, Germany, Italy, France, Britain, Japan, Spain and Russia - and takes the reader through ten years dominated by the Great Depression and political turmoil, when promises of hope grew dim as unemployment, hardship, strife and fear took over. The leaders - Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini, Mao Tse-tung, and others - are examined, not in hindsight, but in the context of their age. The book also looks at how people used to live, what they wore, what food they ate and the suffering they endured.